


Beads Or It Didn't Happen

by MauveCat



Category: Endless Summer (Visual Novel)
Genre: M/M, Mardi Gras
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:55:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29491641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MauveCat/pseuds/MauveCat
Summary: For his husband's first trip to the United States, Diego chose a time and place where all eyes wouldn't be on Varyyn.
Relationships: Diego Soto/Varyyn (Endless Summer)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	Beads Or It Didn't Happen

**BEADS OR IT DIDN’T HAPPEN**

“You were wrong, beloved. I _could_ have brought my crown. See?” Being careful to remain behind the curtain as he peeked down to the street, Varyyn beckoned for Diego to join him at the balcony door. “There are many people here wearing feathers.”

Laughing, Diego slipped an arm around his husband’s waist as he glanced down at the festive crowds thronging the sidewalk encircling the hotel. “You don’t need to be quite _this_ cautious... we’re two stories up and if we leave the light off out on the balcony, no one will be able to see you that well.” Even though it was still early in the evening and the Mardi Gras parade hadn’t reached them yet, the streets were packed. “Good point about your crown, though. If we come back next year, I’ll let you bring it. You can wear this for now.” He handed Varyyn an elaborate gold mask dripping with green and purple feathers. “When he brought the room service menu up, the bellhop dropped off some masks too. He said the hotel is passing them out to anyone who’s planning on watching the parade. They even gave us a few strings of beads, in case we don’t want to actually earn our own.”

Varyyn looked down at him curiously as they turned away from the balcony. “What do you mean... ‘earn’? Is there a task we need to perform?”

“Well... oh, hey, look! They have beignets. I’ve always wanted to try them.” Waving the menu at Varyyn, Diego sat down on the huge, plush bed with a little bounce. “What do you think?”

“I think I want to find out why you are blushing.” Varyyn grinned as he joined Diego on the bed; a moment later, his eyes widened in surprise. “Oh! This is much softer than I was expecting.” He prodded the mattress with interest. “Even the beds in the Celestial were not so thick. I am not sure I will be able to sleep in such... luxury.”

Diego laughed. “If you think _that’s_ luxury, hon, wait until you check out the pillows. And you saw the size of the tub in the bathroom, right?”

“I did, and the many bottles surrounding it smelled very beautiful, like a hundred different flowers.” Leaning over, Varyyn kissed the side of Diego’s neck. “I look forward to trying them with you. And I also look forward to finding out why you blushed when I asked about these.” He reached over and took a strand of bright red beads from the nightstand.

If anything, Diego’s blush deepened. “Well, it’s kinda like – okay, you know how humans usually wear a lot more clothes than Vaanti do?”

Varyyn nodded. “I am not surprised, considering how much colder it is in this country. And... I do not want to criticize your people, but many of those we saw in the airport probably look better with their clothes on.”

“That’s part of it, I guess.” Diego went on, “Mardi Gras is... kind of an exception to the way we usually do things. It’s just one huge party on that street down there – the whole city, in fact. I’m honestly not sure how it got started, and it’s technically illegal, but... well, if a woman shows her breasts to the crowd, or if a man drops his pants, people give them strings of beads.”

“You must be joking. That is all they have to do? They show simple parts of their bodies, and they receive gifts?” Varyyn asked in confusion. He looked down at the jeans and t-shirt he was wearing. “Do _you_ want to do it?”

“Oh, _God_ , no!” Diego exclaimed.

Laughing, Varyyn stretched out on the bed. “I did not think so. And I must confess – I enjoy knowing that your body is for my eyes only, here and at home,” he said, with a slight blush of his own. He looked around at the hotel room’s ornate furnishings. “Are all human dwellings as rich as this one?”

“Not even close. Since Jake knows New Orleans pretty well, I asked him what hotels had a good view of the parades, and then I asked him which one was the best. I suppose I wanted to spoil you a little, since this is your first night in my world.” Diego laid down next to his husband. “So... do you like it?”

Varyyn smiled softly as he rolled over on his side and raised himself on one elbow. “I am happy every moment we are together, and in every place we are together – knowing that you want to please me only adds to my happiness.” He raised his eyebrows. “And I have decided that I like this bed very much. Perhaps we can bring it back with us.”

Diego moved a little closer and pulled Varyyn back down to his side. “We can’t bring back _this_ bed, but maybe we could do some shopping before we go back to La Huerta. We shouldn’t have too much trouble getting a mattress into Jake’s plane. We’ll have to put up with him teasing us about it, of course – but we know he’s gonna tease us about _something_ , so we might as well give him a reason.” He brushed his lips across Varyyn’s cheek. “As much as I hate you covering your face, you’ll have to wear your hoodie and sunglasses when we go out, and we can ask IRIS to do that hologram-projection thing again. It was tricky with such a big crowd, but it worked okay at the airport.”

“I will take your word for it. I did not feel inconspicuous. I felt like everyone’s eyes were on me. Perhaps my uneasiness made me noticeable – it is difficult for me to be comfortable in these clothes.”

“Yeah, but the jeans make your legs look sooo long. And I love your kilt but let’s be honest, it doesn’t do your behind any favors. The way your butt looks in jeans is amazing. If you felt like people were staring at you, that’s probably the reason. I know _I_ keep staring at it.”

“Oh, do you?” Varyyn pulled Diego close. “Well, perhaps we could –”

Both men looked up as the music from the street below grew a little louder. “Sounds like the parade is getting close. Want to go out on the balcony and watch it for a while before we have supper sent up?” Diego asked.

“That sounds wonderful.” Standing up, Varyyn slipped his mask over his face. “If we _do_ come back next year, perhaps I will bring my lion mask with me. The cracks hardly show now that it has been repaired.”

“Sure, why not?” Diego didn’t look around as he unplugged his phone from its charger. “I want to get some pictures of the parade. Let me grab the beads, too – Jake says the crowds like it when you toss beads to them.”

“Is that so? Perhaps we should get more beads, then.”

“Yeah, maybe we could have the front desk send some....” Diego trailed off as he registered, too late, the teasing note in his husband’s voice. He whirled around just in time to see Varyyn, with a flirtatious grin over his shoulder, unzip his jeans and step onto the balcony. “ _Varyyn_!” By the time he ran to the other side of the room and yanked Varyyn back inside, the crowds beneath them were hooting and hollering in approval, and despite the height of their room, a shower of beads were thrown up onto their balcony. “I can’t believe you did that!” he exclaimed as he slammed the balcony door shut, laughing in spite of himself.

“I wanted to see if you were right.” Varyyn grinned as he wrapped his arms around Diego. He nodded toward the balcony, and the beads they could still hear clattering against the glass. “It seems that I performed the ritual correctly.”

“ _And_ gave me a heart attack in the process! Man, I’m glad Jake isn’t here – I don’t want to think about what he’d have to say about this.”

“I am also glad that Jake is not here,” Varyyn murmured into Diego’s ear, “especially now that I have started to remove these troublesome clothes.” Removing his mask, he tossed it onto the bed.

Diego tightened his arms around Varyyn’s waist. “I like the way you think. The parade’s supposed to last almost all night, after all, so we could always – oooohh, boy.” He looked around as someone knocked on the door. “Okay, hon, I’ll check that out while you hide.”

“I will be close in case you need me.”

“I know. Just get in the bathroom,” Diego replied with a gentle shove. Once the coast was clear, he went to the door and looked through the peephole... and he winced. Schooling his expression, he unlocked the door. “Hi, officers – I won’t pretend that I don’t know why you’re up here.”

“We appreciate that, sir.” The first police officer looked around the room carefully while his partner went over to step onto the balcony. “You have someone else in here?”

“My husband’s in the bathroom,” Diego said with a nod toward the door. “I already yelled at him for dropping his jeans, and I promise that it won’t happen again.”

“Yeah, we saw you pull him inside.” The second officer came back into the hotel room. “Your husband got quite a haul out there, though,” he said with a grin. “And the crowd seemed to appreciate his commitment to body paint.”

Trying to keep his surge of relief from showing on his face, Diego nodded. “He’ll be glad to hear that. I sent him in there to wash it off, though.” On cue, he heard water running as Varyyn turned on the tap.

“Good idea.” The first officer finally looked at Diego, then at his partner. “No open bottles, pills or needles in view, and this guy seems sober. Whaddaya think?”

“I think it’s gonna be a long couple of days.” The policeman gave Diego a sharp look. “Lockup is already getting full and we’d really rather not haul anyone in without a good reason. You two promise to behave yourselves?”

Diego raised his hand. “Promise. Believe me, the last thing I want is for my husband to end up in a jail cell,” he said fervently. “We’ll get some room service and we’ll watch the parade, and I promise that all of our clothes will stay on while we’re out there.”

“They’d better. Consider this your one warning. Enjoy the parade, sir. And welcome to New Orleans.”

Once the police had left and the door was locked again, Diego leaned against a chair and tried to calm his racing heart. He laughed weakly when Varyyn peered carefully out of the bathroom. “Come on out, hon – but _please_ don’t do that again.”

“I will not.” Varyyn walked over to Diego, holding a bottle in his hand. “I have never heard of a flower called ‘Midnight Mystery.”

Diego glanced at the label. “That’s just what they call this kind of bubble bath. Looks like it’s got jasmine and freesia.”

“Whatever those flowers are, they smell very good.” Varyyn leaned closer and whispered, “I wonder what you will smell like after we have bathed in this?”

Wrapping his arms around Varyyn’s neck, Diego smiled up at his husband. “You know, the menu says that we have all night to order room service. Do you think we could see what kind of appetites we can work up, and worry about supper later?”

“I think... that I like your world very much.”

**Author's Note:**

> When I wrote the scene in "All Nearness Pauses" that introduced my original character Xiraana, she was wearing Mardi Gras beads. This is where they came from.


End file.
